Altiverb vs Lexicon PCM91 ??

positivemu · Post by **positivemu** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 9:16 am

How would users of the Altiverb rate it as compared to the Lexicon PCM91 or similar reverbs?

qo · Post by qo » Tue Oct 04, 2005 10:03 am

positivemu wrote:How would users of the Altiverb rate it as compared to the Lexicon PCM91 or similar reverbs?

I'm assuming you mean the hardware version of the Lexicon? I have a PCM90 (hardware) and find Altiverb is a much more useful/versatile tool. But, I never did like the PCM90 that much anyway. Paid $2500 for it back in 1997, which is a tad more than Altiverb

positivemu · Post by **positivemu** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 10:08 am

Yes, the hardware version of the PCM91 is what I have. I paid $2200 in 1998 so it hurts! Looks like I can only get $750 or so for it on ebay. But good to hear that the Altiverb is so strong. I will try the demo. How do you find it as regards cpu usage?

schwarz · Post by **schwarz** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 10:12 am

Altiverb is a convolution reverb and works in a complete different way than a Lexicon or similar, so i think it can't be compared.
Convolution reverbs create very realistic natural rooms (also artificial ones, depenent on IR) but you may miss edit- features.
Both great tools, but different

qo · Post by qo » Tue Oct 04, 2005 10:32 am

Altiverb uses Altivec, so offloads a lot of DSP onto that. I did a test comparing it to Waves IR-1 (from a CPU utilization perspective). Search this forum for "Waves Altiverb" and that post should show up.

I wouldn't say that Altiverb and PCM91 are not comparable. They are both reverbs. Yes, their edit features are different, but so are the edit features of many EQ's. But, you'd use them in the same situations. Hence, IMHO, one can make comparisons between the two as to their suitability for a given job.

Having Altiverb (and Waves IR-1) and the Lexicon PCM90, I can say I don't really miss the edit features of the Lexicon. The nicest thing I can say about the Lexicon menu system is that it was developed during the 20th century, so it has that, uh, cost-reductionist vibe about it, heh.

schwarz · Post by **schwarz** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 11:14 am

qo wrote:Having Altiverb (and Waves IR-1) and the Lexicon PCM90, I can say I don't really miss the edit features of the Lexicon. The nicest thing I can say about the Lexicon menu system is that it was developed during the 20th century, so it has that, uh, cost-reductionist vibe about it, heh.

You're right, Lexicon menu is... It's horrible to edit.

I didn't want to be specific about Altiverb vs PCM90.
The RESULT of both is reverb. It's created in different ways, so the results are different. This makes it hard to compare.

pcm · Post by **pcm** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 12:46 am

I'm sorry, but I can't agree with you guys. Altiverb sounds okay on short settings, but on longer ones, it sounds rather metalic and fake. Compared to a Lexicon, there is less"music" in the verb, and is sounds decidedly more collapsed than a Lexicon. Much more "mono" sounding, far less rich. Do a careful listening test, it's not subtle...

Shooshie · Post by **Shooshie** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 4:52 am

pcm wrote:I'm sorry, but I can't agree with you guys. Altiverb sounds okay on short settings, but on longer ones, it sounds rather metalic and fake. Compared to a Lexicon, there is less"music" in the verb, and is sounds decidedly more collapsed than a Lexicon. Much more "mono" sounding, far less rich. Do a careful listening test, it's not subtle...

Ummm... just how long a tail do you need to add to an Altiverb example before you start getting this fake, metallic texture? I've heard everything up to cathedral lengths, and I have yet to hear anything but pure, clean, clear reverb. What am I missing? Subtle ears?

Shooshie

fokof · Post by **fokof** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 5:48 am

Where I work ( show hall ) , I have access to a PCM91 wich I used ALOT.
Then I tried Altiverb just to compare , and I can't use the Lexicon anymore... So much more natural sounding.
Hardware wise , I prefer the sound of high end TC's over Lexicon's.

positivemu · Post by **positivemu** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:01 am

Thank you for the A/B the comparison, Fokof. Very helpful. How have you found the Altiverb in regards to cpu demand?

fokof · Post by **fokof** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:24 am

It's one of the most demanding plugin , but it works fine on my 1,5 ghzPB.
I also run SFooX , with the buffer set to 1024 , along with it with no probs.
I always set the buffer in DP to 1024 for that setup , it gives me a little predelay ( wich I would put anyway ) and it leaves power to the CPU.

positivemu · Post by **positivemu** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:36 am

Again, thank you Fokof and all who have responded for a very informative thread.

Spikey Horse · Post by **Spikey Horse** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:29 am

positivemu - Why don't you try the Altiverb 5 Demo download from audioease.com.

It is fully functioning but with limited no. of presets and a 'beep' (which is reverbed too, so it's not too distracting).

Regardig CPU, this latest version is not only more efficient than previous versions but has a few new features to reduce load even further if needed...

If you don't want to install demo there is a QT video demonstration of Altiverb 5 on the site, too.

Regarding the sound, all I can say is be warned: if you try the demo with your own work - you *will* want to buy it!

earache · Post by **earache** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:53 am

One point no one has mentioned yet is that Lexicon uses chorusing to achieve movement in their reverb tails - something that Altiverb doesn't have. It's part of the Lex signature, and while not very realistic, is a valid and interesting sound. The closest plugins I've heard to Lex are the various TC Powercore plugins - VSS, DVR2, and ClassicVerb, which all incorporate some modulation parameters.

qo · Post by qo » Wed Oct 05, 2005 9:41 am

TC vs Lexicon. I gotta agree with fokof. I prefer even low end TC (e.g. M-ONE) over the PCM90 (I'm not sure what the difference is between the 90 and 91 though, maybe it's huge?). Of course, the M-ONE is a more recent 'verb, with more DSP at it's disposal and is 24 bit. Then again, I preferred the Yamaha REV5 over the PCM90 and the REV5 is a much older unit. I guess it's becoming evident that I don't much like the PCM90. It never grew on me even after 8 years

MOTUnation.com

Altiverb vs Lexicon PCM91 ??

Altiverb vs Lexicon PCM91 ??

Re: Altiverb vs Lexicon PCM91 ??